Visa adds 13 new token providers for IoT drive

07 June 2017 | 5175 views | 0Source: Visa

Today, Visa (NYSE:V) announced it has signed 13 new partners to participate in its token service provider (TSP) program, as the payments industry shifts from plastic to digital and broader access to new standards, such as tokenization, are needed.

With demand expected to increase for payments to be embedded into a growing number of devices, services and experiences, Visa has built out a global network of partners to offer secure, digital payment token services and ensure that regardless of form factor, an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device, appliance, wearable or beyond, can become a more secure place for commerce.

The newest Visa partners share a desire to advance digital and device-based payments, and represent all major regions of the globe:

“A potential tidal wave of new payment accounts is approaching — conservative estimates expect 21 billion Internet-connected devices in just three more years,* so having both the partner network and the right technology in place are fundamental to driving payments on those devices,” said Jim McCarthy, executive vice president, innovation and strategic partnerships, Visa Inc. “We are proud to welcome so many great new partners to the token service provider program, to help us extend tokenization to new devices and form factors and give consumers more payment experiences that they love.”

Visa first announced its token service provider program in October 2016 with initial partners Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), Gemalto and Inside Secure. Since then, G+D, FitPay, Infosys, Inside Secure, and Pri-Num, have been Visa Ready-qualified and begun integrations of Visa technology with partners. The Visa Ready Program provides structure and clarity to allow partners to quickly introduce devices, software, and solutions that can initiate or accept Visa payments.

“Commerce is quickly spreading from computers, smartphones and tablets to connected endpoints of all shapes and sizes,” said Jordan McKee, principal analyst, 451 Research. “Consumers now expect to be able to purchase goods and services at any given time or place on the device of their choosing. What’s more, they expect the experience to be not only secure, but easy-to-use. To meet these elevated demands, commerce stakeholders must collaborate on approaches such as tokenization to ensure security and usability are maintained at scale.”

Visa’s token service provider program gives technology companies a standards-based approach and access to Visa’s broad network of tools and services, including the Visa Token Service, as well as integration, development and marketing support. The program also helps expand the market for tokenization to other companies as they develop new and secure digital payment services and promotes consistency envisioned in the EMVCo token standards.

Tokenization is a payment security technology that replaces cardholder information, such as account numbers and expiration dates, with a unique digital identifier (a “token”) that can be used for payment without exposing a cardholder’s more sensitive account information.